


The One Thing I Want

by Castibella_Shipper_of_the_Lord



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Backgound Saileen, Castiel and Dean Winchester Use Their Words, Castiel in the Empty (Supernatural), Castiel is Claire Novak's Parent, Castiel is Jack Kline's Parent, Castiel is Taken by The Empty | The Shadow (Supernatural), Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Dean Winchester Saves Castiel, Emotionally Hurt Dean Winchester, Episode Fix-It: s15e19 Inherit the Earth, Fix-It, Hurt Castiel (Supernatural), M/M, Magical Artifacts, Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair, Post-Episode: s15e19 Inherit the Earth, Rescue Missions, Sigils
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27659975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Castibella_Shipper_of_the_Lord/pseuds/Castibella_Shipper_of_the_Lord
Summary: Fix it for episodes 19-20Dean has everything now. With everyone brought back at Jack's command, he should feel happy. The world has returned, along with Eileen and the rest.But something is missing, making their recent victory feel like a failure.Cas.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester
Comments: 10
Kudos: 108





	The One Thing I Want

**Author's Note:**

> I know this has been done a lot now, but I couldn't help it. And you know? Having multiple happy endings to choose from can't be a bad thing :D  
> I hope y'all enjoy! <3

Do you ever hear a song on the radio, have it immediately take you back to a point in time. Or be reminded of a person you care about when someone mimics a movement. Or even just a simple phrase can spark recognition in your chest, filling your mind with a memory. A lingering feeling.

___________

Victory had never felt so hollow.

Dean took another swig of beer, ignoring the searching glance his brother shot him from across the map table. Miracle lay beside his chair, tail thumping softly on the hard floor.

Sam finally broke the silence. “Are you gonna say it?”

“Say what.” Dean set his bottle down with perhaps too much force. “That it was worth it? Oh, thank God- Jack- that we finally got our happy ending?”

“Well you’ve obviously had something on your mind, I’m just giving you the opportunity to spit it out.”

Dean stared steadfastly at a bead of condensation sliding its way down the beer bottle. “You got a text in the car from Eileen.”

Sam shifted in his chair, guilt spasming across his face. “Yeah.”

“You get your happy ending.”

“Dean- “

“So where’s mine?” Dean stood and left the room, refusing to look back and see the pity in his brother’s eyes.

___________

“Jack, all I’m asking is you bring him back. I wouldn’t ask for anything else, just please… please try. I don’t care about the Empty. If they want him back, that’s a risk we can take. We’ll figure it out like we always do. Please.”

Silence. Static crackled over the phone.

“I… can’t. I wish I could Dean, but I have to maintain whatever fragile peace I still have with the Empty. Anything I do now, they have the power to release angels, demons, and much worse things into the world when angered.”

“But you’re- “

“God? Yes, but let me ask this: do you really think I want to leave my father there? I’m only doing this because I have no other choice.”

Dean inhaled a shaky breath, scrubbing his face with a hand. “So that’s it. He’s gone.”

“You weren’t listening. I said _I _can’t do anything. However, if you were to retrieve someone on your own volition, it wouldn’t be interference on my part.”__

____

“Kid… thank you.”

____

“Bring him home Dean.”

____

_____________

____

“This should work.”

____

“We’ve raided the bunker and a freakin’ tomb for this stuff, it had better work.”

____

Sam continued leafing through the spellbook, taking great care with the brittle pages. “Jody says that Claire insisted on driving over. She’s on her way and said to tell you that if you start the spell now, she’ll kick your ass.” Sam finally looked up. “Jody was resigned to let her apparently. And Donna took over the phone to say hi and also pass on from Kaia that we’d better not have gotten Claire’s hopes up for nothing.”

____

“Noted.” Dean finished with the sigils, aligning multiple sacred objects where they belonged. They’d spent the better part of the month searching for magically charged objects after finding the spellbook on power transference.

____

The bunker door slammed, footsteps clattering down the stairs.

____

“Did ya learn to fly or something?” Dean said, stepping away from the sigils.

____

Claire swung her backpack onto a nearby chair, panting slightly, hair windblown. “Told Jody to call you just before I arrived… didn’t want you to start without me.”

____

Sam shook his head, smile tugging at his lips. “Let’s just get started.”

____

Dean took his position, angel blade in hand as Sam began the incantation. The room immediately became charged with power, their ears popping from the sudden shift. The sigils flared a brilliant white before fading to inky black, glimmering like the moon on dark waters. Sam’s voice never wavered, rising over the buzz of magic as the artifacts leeched energy into creating a rift, a dark spiral at the center of the bunker.

____

Dean braced himself, locking eyes with his brother. They exchanged nods, Dean allowing himself a grim smile. It was time to bring his angel home.

____

The last thing he saw before plunging through the rift was Claire’s expression of barely contained hope.

____

The passage through the rift was bracing, the shock of cold nearly taking his breath away. He stepped out on the other side and paused to take in his surroundings.

____

If he weren’t walking, he’d have thought he was falling through space. The lack of anything yawned like a void, sucking all sound into its depths.

____

“Cas?” he called, the rift behind him casting a glow soft glow as he strode further into the Empty.

____

The spell was anchored on Castiel’s exact location; it should have deposited him in the correct place. The thought of them making a mistake added to Dean’s desperation.

____

_“Cas?” ___

______ _ _

He stumbled at the sight of tan trenchcoat and darted forward, dropping to his knees beside Castiel’s immobile form. Shakily stowing the angel blade in his jacket, he hesitated before grasping Castiel’s shoulder.

______ _ _

“Cas, can you hear me?” Dean’s voice cracked on the angel’s name.

______ _ _

Castiel didn’t move.

______ _ _

“I’m gonna get you out of here, okay? We’re going home.”

______ _ _

“Oh but Dean, he made a deal. I’m afraid there are no returns for this one,” Meg’s voice reverberated through the darkness. “So sad really.” She appeared out of thin air, lounging on a throne. “You know what he’s dreaming about? Every time he failed you. Every mistake he made, every act of betrayal. It’s tearing up his poor little heart.” The Empty smirked with Meg’s face. “And I can’t let that be interrupted I’m afraid.”

______ _ _

Dean smiled right back, pouring icy calmness into his voice. “Well you’re about to be real disappointed then, aren’t you.”

______ _ _

Right on cue, Castiel jerked, eyes flashing open but unseeing. Grace exploded from his mouth and eyes, flowing into the rift and vanishing.

______ _ _

“Because Cas isn’t and angel anymore. You don’t have a claim on him.” Dean hefted Castiel into his arms as the Empty leaned forward, a snarl tearing from their lips. “And if you even _think _of hurting my family again, I won’t give you a warning. You’ll already be dead.”__

________ _ _ _ _

With a final glare at the entity masquerading as Meg, he strode into the portal.

________ _ _ _ _

“Cas!”

________ _ _ _ _

Claire was running toward them before he’d even cleared the rift. Sam murmured a final incantation before dropping the book and rushing over as Dean laid Castiel on the ground.

________ _ _ _ _

“Is he…?“ Claire whispered, hand over her mouth.

________ _ _ _ _

Dean looked up at Sam. “The transference worked?”

________ _ _ _ _

“The artifacts absorbed the Grace. It worked. He should be human now.”

________ _ _ _ _

As he spoke, Castiel shifted in Dean’s arms, eyes fluttering open.

________ _ _ _ _

“Dean?” he rasped, brow furrowing. “What- I was just- “He struggled to sit up.

________ _ _ _ _

“Whoa whoa, easy,” Dean said, helping him stand. He kept an arm around Castiel as he swayed on his feet. “We had to do a spell to get you back. It required a transference of power once you’ve drained it, and the most powerful thing nearby was your Grace. I’m sorry.”

________ _ _ _ _

Castiel blinked. “I’m… I’m human?”

________ _ _ _ _

Dean nodded, guilt clawing in his chest. The last thing he expected was Castiel’s radiant smile.

________ _ _ _ _

“I’m _human, _” he repeated, eyes shining.__

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sam nudged Claire forward, who threw herself into a stunned Castiel’s arms, nearly knocking both him and Dean over. She held tight before stepping back, surreptitiously wiping her face.

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Don’t ever do that again,” she said. Punching him lightly on the shoulder, Claire gave a watery grin.

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I won’t.” Castiel nodded back sagely.

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

Claire retreated, still rubbing her cheek with her sleeve. Sam moved to give Castiel a one armed hug, mindful of Dean bracing the ex-angel’s other side.

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

“It’s good to have you back, man,” Sam said. He drew back after a moment, glancing between Dean and Castiel. Something stuttered over his expression that Dean couldn’t decipher, gone in a blink. “Claire, how ‘bout we give them some time to talk, hm?” Without missing a beat, Claire nodded and followed, looking back with at the pair with a smirk.

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Dean.” Castiel shifted away from his grasp so they were facing each other. “Why did you do it?”

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

“What? Save you?”

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You had no way of knowing what the Empty would do, putting yourself at risk was reckless-“

__________ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Dammit Cas, _you deserve to be saved _.” Dean couldn’t help raising his voice. “Isn’t that what you said to me after raising me from Hell? You’re not an exception.”__

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Castiel fell silence, gaze on the floor.

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dean cleared his throat, swiping a hand over his face. Why was this so _difficult? _” You really thought after you raised me from perdition, I would hesitate to do the same?”__

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

No response.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dean moved closer, hoping to catch his attention. “Look at me, Cas. Please.” Slowly, blue eyes raised to meet green. “Before the Empty… you said something.”

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Castiel’s jaw clenched. “I did.”

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You were gone before I could respond.”

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Those blue eyes widened, and Dean couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips, warmth overwhelming the surge of anxiety rising in his throat.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You said the one thing you want, is something you know you couldn’t have.” He coughed, the words making his mouth go dry. “And after all these years, I thought the same thing. Because I know what my own true happiness looks like. And it’s always been with you. Because you changed me too.”

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Castiel seemed rendered mute, watching Dean with a dazed expression.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dean moved closer, fitting his hand on the ex-angel’s shoulder in a mirror of the handprint he’d received all those years ago. “I love you too, Cas. And I just- “ He broke off, voice shaking.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Castiel surged forward suddenly, grip fastening on Dean’s jacket as he crashed their lips together. Dean nearly staggered under the onslaught, but recovered quickly, hands rising to frame Castiel’s face. It was as if Grace were flooding his soul, sparking and flickering through his veins and setting him alight from within. He swore he suddenly knew how it felt to have wings, the exhilaration making his heart race.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Dean suddenly knew what he’d been missing. The ringing void in the bunker after Castiel had been taken, overshadowing the relief of their seemingly hollow victory. Not even Eileen’s return, Charlie’s relieved phone call at Stevie being back, or Sam’s continued attempts to cheer him up could distract him.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

He opened his eyes, reluctantly pulling away from the kiss, though unable to help a soft smile. Castiel smiled back. Neither let go, connecting each other together.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Can you say it? Just to remind me this is real,” Dean breathed.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Do you ever hear a song on the radio, have it immediately take you back to a point in time. Or be reminded of a person you care about when someone mimics a movement. Even just a simple phrase can spark recognition in your chest, filling your mind with a memory. A lingering feeling.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Realization seemed to dawn, and Castiel dipped his head, huffing a laugh.

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Hello Dean.”

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Jack obviously comes to see his dads after, and Eileen drives to the bunker to reunite with Sam. I felt bad not having more interactions with her in it, because I adore her character. But Dean needed to have his gay love pierce the veil of death and save the day, and that came first XD
> 
> Comments make my day! And I hope y'all are doing okay *hugs* <3


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